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That chat with a prepress guy about spot colors changed how I look at neon

I was at a print shop in Austin last week picking up some business cards and got to talking with their old prepress guy. He told me most neon problems come from people not realizing the paper absorbs the ink differently than what you see on screen. He showed me how a 200% ink coverage on cheap stock will always turn muddy no matter what profile you use. It hit different because I've been blaming my printer for months when it was really the paper and ink load all along. Has anyone else had a prepress operator drop a simple fix that changed your whole workflow?

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kim.hannah5d agoMost Upvoted

That thing about paper absorbing ink differently is so real. I had a similar moment when a prepress guy told me that fluorescent colors on uncoated paper are basically a waste of money because the fibers suck the life right out of them. I used to order neon business cards on recycled stock and wondered why they looked like faded highlighters. Now I test everything on the actual paper before committing, and I keep a few sample sheets of coated and uncoated stock at my desk to check before any neon job goes to print. It saves so much headache.